The Art of Touching
by EmeraldsAmethysts
Summary: Nick's bff and partner in law enforcement Judy Hopps is suddenly single and Nick, harboring feelings after an unforgettable night, contemplates his next move.


This goes out to lilac-wine-jolene (on Tumblr) for being the only one to answer my stupid-ass survey thing about which WildeHopps story I should start with. If any of you furries have a drabble or prompt in mind, send them my way. I'll take a look and maybe do it. Fair warning— M-rating and a shitload of swearing aaaand other stuff you'll just have to read if you want to know. Not beta-read. Now read on!

* * *

Nick Wilde cocked his head, curious.

It was barely 6AM and the precinct lobby was fairly empty, the faint wisps of the dawn light only beginning to encroach through the glass windows. That wasn't what gave him so much pause, though.

Clawhauser sat at his usual spot at the reception desk, uniform meticulously pressed, typing away on his computer... and dangling Judy Hopps on his knee.

Judy. What the hell? She had abruptly taken a week off and this was the first he'd seen of her since the previous Friday. Something about family obligations and she said she'd turn off her cell when she'd breezed out of Zootopia, headed back to her hometown for a short spell. Nick had been stuck in Records for that duration. Now here she was and didn't even text him that she'd be back in town.

Judy seemed to be dozing, wrapping Ben's meaty paw around herself, her pretty face pressed into Ben's regulation blue police shirt. She murmured and snuggled deeper.

Nick felt his ears turn red, his face beginning to burn hotly.

What the _fuck?_

The were so many fucked up things about the scene that it wasn't even funny.

Was Judy doing something gross with Benjamin Clawhauser? Like a friends-with-benefits or a… a…. _thing?_ It didn't look entirely indecent or anything, but normally mammals only cuddled their family or mates.

 _Mates._ Nick disliked that word more and more every passing year. It tasted like bitterness on his tongue.

But…Judy and the precinct receptionist. Now there's a thought to make his breakfast come up.

There's no way that could happen. And besides Ben was... was... everyone knew he liked...

 _"Hey, Nick!"_

Nick jerked in surprise at the cheetah's traditional squeal of happiness.

Judy's eyes flew open and she shot out of Ben's lap, startled. Her huge eyes glinted in the morning light, and Nick could smell her anxiety.

"Am I late, Nick? Did Bogo ask for me?"

"No. Oh and don't mind me, Fluff. You look cozy."

Nick's pointed teeth ground and gave an audible clack. He continued staring openly at the bizarre little scene before him. Clawhauser started to hum and shove donuts into his mouth two at a time.

Nick surreptitiously gave a small sniff, searching for traces of excitement or... something else.

He didn't smell it from either of them. Maybe they were just extra friendly?

Nick relaxed his posture. Judy was such a goof with Ben. Ben is taken, Nick remembered the panther he was seeing, and Judy was just some cuddle bug.

Besides, he and Judy were best friends and partners. He could sometimes get a bit territorial. It was a canid thing. _So sue me._

"Let's hop to it, Hopps. And I want to hear all about you carrot-choked town."

* * *

After a grueling 8-hour shift, Nick made his way to the locker room. Judy was acting so weird today. Antsy and jumpy and tight-lipped for once in her life. She'd tried to hide it, but Nick was so used to reading people. It seemed the more hours slipped by, the more tightly wound-up she became. It was like sitting next to a stick of dynamite that would go off any second. As soon as they'd clocked out she took off like a shot, shouting something about moving stuff.

 _What stuff?_ Nick scratched the back of his neck, mystified.

Now in the process of pulling his duffel bag out of his locker, his nose picked up the smell of male excitement. Not horniness or baby-making mood or anything like that. Eagerness and some bit of shock thrown in. There were whispers reaching him and he recognized Wolford and some of the others.

 _"Did you hear?"_

 _"—Hopps and—"_

 _"Yeah and her—_

 _"—but I thought—"_

 _"No, dumbass, the_ hare _she was shackin' up with!"_

Nick froze and strained to hear. _Was?_

 _"—Staying with Ben—"_

 _"— with Nick if—"_

Nick's tail began to flick agitatedly. What were they talking about? If they were gossiping maliciously about Jude he would clock them square in the muzzle.

He slammed his locker with a loud bang and rounded a corner. As he expected; Wolford, Delgato, Jackson, and Snarlov.

"What's up? Why are you talking about Judy?"

Even to Nick, it sounded sharp and brittle as cheap glass.

His fellow officers exchange quick looks, expressionless.

"You shouldn't gossip about her," Nick snapped, breathing hard through his nose. He was beginning to feel the start of a tension headache. If he got any more agitated he'd be throwing up just by walking into the bright sunlight.

"Weren't gossiping," Snarlov retorted coolly, "we were discussing. There's a difference."

"About what?" Nick pressed, his stomach twisting somehow with nerves.

Wolford snorted. "Thought you didn't like gossip? Ask Hopps yourself."

Nick watch them shuffle out of the locker room, the door closing with a thud. The silence itself was somehow very loud.

 _Assholes,_ he thought sourly, turning to grab his bag from his locker.

The wolves in Precinct One were ok for the most part but, like most canines, they were naturally competitive with other canines. Sometimes Wolford would get out of line, like the other night for example at a dive bar when a pretty wolf had flirted outrageously with Nick, and Wolford just had to make some stupid-ass joke at Nick's expense. He wasn't called Slick Nick for nothing, however, and Nick had had to humiliate Wolford in front of the gorgeous white she-wolf in order to take him down a few notches. So yeah, it would make sense that this dumbass timber wolf would love to think he knew more than Nick, and he would love to lord it over his head.

Nick slammed his locker shut yet again. They didn't understand.

* * *

No, they really _didn't_ understand.

Nick drove his Mustang home under a blood-red sun, weaving through rush hour traffic and trying to suppress a headache that was finally creeping up on him. Sunglasses didn't help a species that was natural nocturnal, and he only wore than because he thought it was a cool look on him. He reminisced during the drive about many things, but especially about that night almost a year before.

It had all been his fault— as usual.

* * *

The previous year they had been out celebrating the anniversary of his graduating the ZPA, and a year pretty much since they had become partners. That single year had been the best in his entire life, and he'd wanted to have a night out on the town with his best friend, the bunny that had rocked his world and made him want to be a better mammal.

Even though the whole idea had been to celebrate his achievements, he still wanted to make it special for her. He had bought front row tickets to an off-Clawedway show. It was mainly a predator venue but had begun to integrate itself more after the fall of Dawn Bellwether and her cohorts

 _Annie Boarbucks._ He had chosen that musical on the hunch that Judy would relate to the scrappy protagonist and her unrelenting optimism, and he'd been right. His partner had been riveted throughout the whole performance, laughing and gasping and cheering at the end. He still found it hard to believe that she had never even heard of the musical; it was a pretty famous one.

The show ended far too early, Judy had whined. She looked really good in her slacks and a slouchy pink sweater that bared one slim shoulder. Nick had cleared his throat and look away.

And so they had walked out with the night still young and Judy with a skip to her step.

 _"Some of us are drippin' with diamonds, some of us are drippin' with pearls! Lucky me, lucky me, look at what I'm_ drippin' _with— Little boars!"_ Judy had giggled lightly, her singing voice reminding Nick of light piano notes and raindrops.

"Where do you want to go now? Snarlbucks?" Nick had asked genially after they'd strolled for a bit.

"Actually… I want us to go to the _Greyhounds' Lounge._ "

Nick's jaw had dropped, his brows arching high into his forehead.

"Uh…. I'm sorry Carrots, but did you just say…?"

"Yep!" she had tried to sound nonchalant but her ears were red.

"Huh."

"What?" her nose twitching madly and her foot already thumping.

"How did you hear about that joint and why do you want to go? Wouldn't you prefer something a little more….more…wholesome?"

Apparently, he'd said the wrong thing. It had been dark yet he hadn't had trouble discerning the angry red flush that bloomed across her face. Judy was touchy about her inexperience and lack of street smarts.

Nick had backpedaled fast.

" _Ok!_ Ok, ok…. let's go."

 _Greyhounds'_ was a more adult-oriented establishment that toed the line of quirky and trashy. It was fun yet seedy. You could get a drink and hang out with friends, but the real reason to go was the entertainment. Female mammals of different species performed risqué acts in costume and even half naked. Cool, one would normally think. Hot babes. Except….

Much like that long-ago day at the naturalist club and then at the DMV, Nick had been so fucking amused at the shocked expression on his little bunny's face. He couldn't help it. She was just so damned naive and would always be a little bit starry-eyed.

Goldie, the elderly Chinese Crested hairless dog that was a popular dancer, flounced down the stage, her tongue lolling out, her limbs bouncing erratically, as she'd twirled in her tiny Red Riding Hood costume. She left little to the imagination but Nick, giving Judy a side-eyed smirk, tossed a bill at his favorite old working girl.

Flashing the pair a grin, Goldie lifted her little petticoat and flashed them square in the face. She never wore underwear.

Judy's hand came to her muzzle, her mortified sputters escaping her fingers. Nick snorted and laughed until his stomach hurt.

This place was a gem. Located in the Nocturnal District below grounds, it was the kind of place you went to when in the mood to see something breathtakingly out of the ordinary. The females were unique, none of them possessing the conventional beauty of their species. Most were older, grizzled, but also cheerful. Finn called them "retired hookers." That seemed a bit harsh— they were also really sweet and looked out for one another.

Judy and Nick had spent the rest of the night drinking with some of the dancers. Among them was Penelope Pumpkin, a very chubby red-furred vixen with a gold fang— _and an equally golden heart, Nick had fawned, pressing a wet kiss on her furry cheek_ — and Rocket, a lighthearted chimpanzee with a huge blonde wig and bigger tits that she would smash beer cans in with. Judy had almost pissed herself laughing. She was almost too precious, Nick had thought, watching her stare at the other dancers and asking questions.

 _"DeeCee?"_

 _"Cups. Short for Dee Cups."_

 _"Why—"_

 _"Just use your imagination, Hopps."_

* * *

It had been past midnight when they'd staggered out… well, staggered up into the night. Judy grasped his paw tightly and hadn't let go even after they'd walked for over a mile, preferring to walk to the nearest subway station on the outskirts of the Rainforest district. Judy was always so touchy-feely. A hugger where he shied away from physical contact. He remembered the sky tram with her and stored the memory in a corner of his mind for safe keeping, the same corner that contained his childhood memories of his mom and dad before they died, and all the wayward friends he'd lost throughout the years.

He still remembered feeling her heartbeat pulse in her hand as he'd given tiny hand a gentle squeeze. He'd felt her heartbeat accelerate when he'd almost unconsciously stroked his thumb between her own thumb and forefinger.

Judy had looked at him with those huge amethyst eyes glinting in the moonlight.

"You place is better."

"For what?"

"Use your imagination, Wilde."

"Carrots….."

"Just this once. That way we'll never wonder 'what-if.'"

This was where he'd fucked up. Vulpine noses were notoriously keen and sharp, and Judy had smelled of lust and frustrated longing. She'd always taken hormone suppressants aka "chill pills" to quell the famous bunny mating drive, but for whatever reason, this spike of arousal was sudden and as and sharp as a kick to the gut.

As alcohol-addled as he had been, Nick was honest to himself about the chain of events. He'd known…. the way he always knew when danger was near because he smelled a change of something in the air, or the way he's known to let go or reel in a sucker in his con mammal days. Nicholas Wilde always knew; he believed in karma, in the goodness of Judy and blueberries, and when to surrender himself to something that was as unstoppable and unavoidable as a shipwreck or a lightning strike.

The line was there in the proverbial sand. Stark and silent. He hadn't heeded it.

By the time they had reached his shitty downtown apartment that late summer night Judy had been pulsing with this new wantonness but her eyes had been sharp and steady.

He shouldn't have. It wasn't the booze, more of an inevitability. Why push against a current? _So you and_ her _don't drown_ , a little voice in his head whispered.

He'd never been with a prey mammal before. Hadn't really considered it. There was an old joke among predators that to prey, sex and sleeping were almost the same things.

Holy shit did those idiots not know what the fuck they were saying. They'd undressed each other and started the foreplay with passionate curiosity. She'd inspected every inch of his aroused foxhood, stroking and cupping, making him suck in the air as his head tilted back. He'd also touched her first gently then with more urgency, slipping a long, inquisitive finger into her body. Her spread and splayed legs had trembled, her red flush spreading, hey mouth opened as she gasped breath after unsteady breath.

She'd looked so tiny and fragile, lying naked on his bed. He'd been afraid of hurting her. He remembered drawing a claw lightly down her stomach and she'd shuddered, her eyelids drifting shut. The spinning feeling in his chest had expanded and engulfed him.

He was used to being rough with vixens; it was a vulpine tendency, snaps and growls and a race to see who would get whom off first. But this had been something else. He'd filled her up completely. Her tight heat had caused choked grunts of pleasure to escape him. He'd seen _stars_ behind his closed eyelids, and everything had disappeared in the universe except this willing little rabbit writhing on his rumpled bed.

It had been too much, too close, too frenzied in its power. He had lain on top of her but kept most of his weight on his forearms, wanting to sink into her forever but afraid of losing control. Everything about her had overwhelmed him; the scent of her sex had seared his nose and filled his lungs, her hitched moans caused him to go faster and harder before he'd slowed with a wince at her body's chokehold on his pulsing length.

He'd panted hotly into her ear, beating back the less evolved mammal that was still in his nature somewhere.

 _Too fast too hard don't hurt her stop stop stop she's prey she's little_

"Nick," she'd groaned, her eyes rolling up, her knees on his hunched shoulders trembling, "Nick, please don't…"

"I'll stop if you want," he'd whispered, eyes shut tight and burning, and he'd licked her neck and cheek fervently.

"No! Don't stop. Do it, do it, do it," her voice had stuttered as he began to move inside her again, tracing his muzzle through her breasts and pink nipples, "like I'm a vixen—"

He'd increased his pace, unable to think too clearly and feeling too hot to stop. _Vixen?_

She came pretty hard, and that at the very least made him proud. He hadn't even thought to knot her because it was biologically impossible— wasn't it?— but he still came inside her and it was something he knew he would never forget. Better than all the hustles, all the money, even better than graduating the ZPA with top honors.

The next morning he'd woken hungover as hell. Bleary-eyed and nauseated, his bed cold and he instantly knew why. Looking across his bedroom he's seen her dressing quickly as she'd spared him a faint, fey smile, her gaze warm.

"I'll go home and shower and change into my uniform. I'll pick up Snarlbucks for us and meet you in the bullpen, 'kay?"

"….ok. Judy—"

She'd already been bouncing on her feet as she had exited his bedroom, her amazing waist and butt (that he now knew up close and personal) swaying as she left and that little cottontail twitching happily. And yes, her tail did have a personality.

Nick had plopped back down with a sigh, covering his eyes with his long russet-colored arm.

Things had gone back to normal very quickly. For the most part. He beat down any lingering feelings that sometimes snuck into his unguarded mind about what they had done. Within months she'd met that brown, blah-looking buck from one of those hick towns in the Tri-Burrows. Some country yokel named Brad. He treated Judy with a sort of deferential, exaggerated politeness, all _please-and-thank you's_ and country slang with a Burrow twang. It sounded staged and rehearsed to Nick, but he wanted Judy to be happy and so kept his thoughts to himself. Within a month or two Judy had moved into the guy's apartment since her lease at the shoe box apartment ended.

When winter and his mating season had hit he'd had to call out sick for a week, claiming the flu, but the truth is, was, and always remained that that winters were difficult for single foxes. The past winter had been terrible, worse than ever before. Either way, the stars never seemed to align under Nick Wilde's sky and so he grew older and the winters became more arduous. The vixens never stayed and he never tried to fight for them.

All these thoughts and more were making pirouettes in Nick's mind as he drove down the highways of his city, the wind blowing through his fur.

Nick Wilde contemplated his next move.

* * *

Thanks for reading! I know less than zero about mammal anatomy and almost died when I had to google chimp tits and fox and rabbit mating rituals.

What do you guys think so far?


End file.
